


When Only The Company Is Good

by HungryLibrary



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Beer, F/F, Fluff, a beer, pearl is too gay to hold her liquor and thats fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 04:31:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15987665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HungryLibrary/pseuds/HungryLibrary
Summary: Pearl turns twenty-one. She drinks one (1) beer, under Marina’s careful supervision.It is super effective. Pity about the taste, though.





	When Only The Company Is Good

“I think I’m drunk.”

Marina smiled incredulously down at her. “After one beer?”

“It was a good beer.” Pearl protested from her lap. “Tasted like shit. An average sized beer.”

The impaired Inkling squinted up at Marina. Or in her general direction anyway, Pearl’s eyes actually ending up following the tip of one of Marina’s tentacles before drifting off and getting lost somewhere on the ceiling.

“A whole entire averaged sized beer… That makes it, what, two beers for someone my size? Three?”

She chuckled.

“I’ve probs become like twenty percent alcohol.”

A teal claw poked her gently in the cheek. Pearl’s gaze wandered back from the ceiling to the Octoling she was using as the world’s best pillow.

“Twenty percent alcohol?” Marina was grinning. “Then you’re a beer of your very own, and a pretty strong one too.”

“What kind of beer would I be?” Pearl wondered aloud. “Not this carp, that’s for sure.” The mostly empty can balancing on her chest earned a glare. “Maybe something light… a, pale ale, or whatever.”

“Something sweet.” The claw on her cheek turned as Marina ran her finger up to stoke at short bangs. “Something bold.”

Pearl snorted. “Something _small._ ”

“And cute.”

“Not a _big_ brand name.”

“Something special.” Marina hummed. “Something that’s one-of-a-kind…”

It hit Pearl in a burst of inspiration, so obvious and perfect, like a full line of lyrics dropping into her lap.

“… fucking shell, Reena.” Pearl groaned.

“I’m a _micro_ -brew!”

Pearl’s pillow shook and the world went dark. Marina doubled over, laughing like _she_ was the one who’d just had a her first full beer.

“M.C.-” The Octoling choked out between giggles. “M.C. Brewery?”

Fumbling with her fingers Pearl barely managed to flash a peace sign.

“The one. The only. Aka, the totally toasted.”

Bleary eyes caught on teal-tipped tentacles again, mesmerized by the way Marina’s laughter rippled through them. Reaching up Pearl tickled the nearest one. It jumped and wiggle away like it had a mind of its own.

Pearl hrrr’ed low in her throat. “Yooou’ve got cat tails on your head.” 

The targeted tentacle wrapped around Pearl’s fingers, trapping them before the Inkling could act on the mischievous glint in her eye.

The Inkling responded by pouting.

Marina snickered.

“And if _you_ weren’t a living craft brew right now, I’d be very tempted to kiss you.”

“If I wasn’t?” Pearl blinked hard, pout shifting into confused frown.

“Why if I wasn’t? You not into beer? I could probably turn myself into a shitty wine or something, if that’s more your thing.” She nodded to herself, very serious. “Give me some juice and a fancy glass, maybe one of those paper umbrellas, and I could be the mixed drink of your dreams.”

The Octoling above her shook her head. “A very sweet offer, but I still wouldn’t be able to drink it.”

Pearl’s pout came back full force.

“Reeenaaa whyyyy?”

“Because.”

Marina drew herself up, matching Pearl seriousness for seriousness.

“This is your twenty first birthday, not mine. Technically, its still illegal for me to put my lips on anything that’s twenty percent alcohol.”

The Inkling in her lap stared for a moment.

Then Pearl let out a sound, the squeak of air leaving a balloon that melted into the classic ‘Ffffpptptptp’ of a well-practiced raspberry and lasted for almost a full minute.

Marina didn’t last half as long before cracking up again.

“That was sooo letter of the law.” Pearl sniggered. “If I hadn’t just had a beer I bet I could, constant it or whatever. Contestant? Croissant. _Whatever._ ”

She held up a finger, or actually her whole hand plus the tentacle that was still hugging it.

“Point is, I could argue for the kiss. But!”

Her other hand tipped the beer can on her chest. She made a face at it.

“This beer… really is shitty. You don’t deserve to taste it, not even second hand. Not even for a kiss. It’s that shitty.”

“My hero.” Marina giggled, leaning down anyway to drop a kiss on Pearl’s forehead. “If it’s that bad should I get you something nicer to wash it down with? You should probably drink some water anyway.”

“Yeah.”

Sighing Pearl draped her arm, and Marina’s tentacle, across her eyes.

“In a minute. Or ten. You really are a world-class pillow, you know that?”

“And you really are drunk.”

Drunk and very comfortable. The beer can tilted dangerously on Pearl’s chest as she relaxed. A second later she felt it being pulled up and out of her slack fingers, then heard the hollow metallic clink as it was set on the coffee table. 

“Thanks, Reena.” Pearl mumbled, glad her girlfriend couldn’t see her face right then.

“Fuck. This is probs a pretty boring-ass way to celebrate a birthday.”

“Shh...”

Marina’s fingers were back at her bangs, tracing cool lines across Pearl’s flushed skin.

“It isn’t boring, Pearlie. It’s _peaceful._ ”

Her words felt like her touch- Cool and soft, muting the jarring buzz in Pearl’s head and blurring things the way she’d thought the beer would.

“I like nights like this.”

There was sigh and shift, Marina settling back into the couch as the last hidden twinges of tension left her.

“Laying around, being silly together.” She sounded so happy. “Just getting to be us.” 

“Yeah…”

Stupid carppy alcohol. Pearl should have said fuck you to the traditional happy twenty-first birthday beer, or at least swapped it for something that didn’t make you scrape your tongue against your teeth trying to get rid of the taste.

_Fuck._ She really wished she could kiss Marina right now.

Then again, hadn’t Marina kissed her a second ago, no problem? Just don’t do it on the lips and she was good to go!

Feeling very smug for herself Pearl wound her hand around the tentacle laying over her eyes (best facemask ever) and dragged it down to her lips.

“Mwah.” She said as she dropped a kiss on the bright green tip.

“I’m not totally out of kiss-commission after a- Whoa!”

The ‘whoa’ was her super sharp reaction to her world class pillow suddenly turning into a trampoline.

“Reena?” Getting her bearings back was way harder that it should be. Pearl blinked and squinted and finally managed to find Marina’s face. The Octoling was looking _very_ surprised.

“Whoops.” Sheepishly Pearl released the tentacle. “That ticklish, huh? Sorry.”

“No-”

Marina’s voice cracked on the word.

She cleared her throat quickly, tentacle wrapping back around Pearl’s hand instead of flicking to safety like Pearl’s expected.

“It’s not, it’s not ticklish… I mean, it _is_ , but that didn’t tickle.”

Pearl squinted up at her.

There was something else about Marina’s face… a hit of cyan hiding under her dark cheeks…

Marina was blushing.

“Holy cod.”

The quality control between Pearl’s brain and her mouth seemed to have switched off. Which was why she ended up hearing herself ask-

“The tips? Really?” Her mind was in the process of being blown. “Shit, I always figured they’d be too sensitive. That, uh, that was a _good_ not-tickle, right? Or was it weird?” She gulped. “I did something fucking weird didn’t I.”

Pearl’s free palm met her face with a smack and stayed there.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Feel free to dump me off the couch any time.”

Instead of doing that Marina just laughed.

“It wasn’t weird.” Familiar cool fingers found Pearl’s hand and started prying it off the Inkling’s face. “Just a surprise. I didn’t think it would feel like that either. Feel, um, good like that.”

Pearl let out a drawn out groan as her face, and grimace, were slowly uncovered.

“But this was such a sucky way to figure it ouuuut…”

Marina rolled her eyes as she laced their fingers together, a precaution to keep Pearl from smacking herself in the face again. 

“Just think of it as a happy accident. Yes beer, or at least this brand of beer, tastes bad. But not wanting to inflict that taste on your girlfriend led to a new discovery, one she definitely likes. It’s a net positive, Pearl. So you can stop looking like you just lost three splatfests in row.”

Letting out another groan Pearl rolled over and hid her face in Marina’s shirt.

“Fucking… fuck beer.” She grumbled. “’m _sick_ of being drunk.”

Marina brushed back one of her stubby tentacles, peering down at her worriedly. “You feel sick?”

“No. Just in my soul or whatever.”

“Well, a glass of water probably won’t hurt either way. I’ll get you one if you let me get up.”

“Nooo.” Tugging both hands free Pearl locked her arms around the Octoling’s waist, securing herself against removal. “Water, good. Not cuddling, bad. Would rather suffer forever.”

She didn’t have to look up to known Marina was rolling her eyes again.

“Okaaay. How about we do both?”

Both. Both?

“How both?”

“Let go for a second and I’ll show you.”

Pearl considered the offer.

It could be a trick. Marina was actually really good at tricks in the rare times she wanted to be, she’d learned from the best after all- But even if it was a trick and Pearl got abandoned on the couch, a glass of water would definitely be appearing at some point. 

Water would mean less bleagh taste and hopefully less idiot in her head. These were good and important things.

Letting her arms go slack Pearl rolled over and sprawled there, faintly dizzy and resigned.

“I give. You’ve got my total surrender.”

“Good!”

The next thing Pearl knew the couch was gone and her arms were wrapping around Marina’s neck as she clung on for dear life.

“Then shall I convey the princess to the kitchen of healing?”

Pearl grinned down at the floor and then up at her much taller girlfriend. Who was now carrying her, and carrying her as easily as if she were a pillow or a folded up blanket.

“Show off.”

Marina lifted her chin, expression aloof. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

“And a please. And a thanks.”

Snuggling under Marina’s chin as they set off, Pearl found herself thinking of something. Something brilliant. Something amazing. Something that made her smirk maybe just a touch evilly.

“… Hey Reena.”

“Yes?”

The ‘yes’ was unguarded, open. Totally unsuspecting.

Pearl’s smirk grew by ten sizes.

“Sooo... I guess there’s an advantage to me being a _lightweight_ after all, huh?”

This time she got to feel the exasperated (and fond) giggle as it bubbled up in Marina’s chest.

And that was all Pearl needed to hear to know that this had, somehow, actually, been a birthday well spent. 


End file.
